Mark S. Williams and father Ted Williams, 1985
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BIOGRAPHY
Mark S. Williams was born in Gloucester in
1952. He grew up in his family's home on Bass Avenue beside Good
Harbor Beach (below). After attending St. Mel's Day School and
St. Peter's Boys School where he played baseball and football,
he attended the University of Southern Louisiana in Lafayette.
After graduation from college he attended
the Commercial Dive School in California (below) and worked as
a diver in Aberdeen, Scotland where he specialized in oil well
ultra-sonics. He worked for the Atlantic Dive Company out of
Gloucester before turning to fishing.
After fishing aboard a gill-netter he bought
his first lobster boat, Chassea. After that boat sank he bought
the Black Sheep and lobstered out of Gloucester for seventeen
years.
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In 1999, Mark began
writing down the stories from his years as a fisherman. He filled
23 notebooks, long-hand, before he bought a computer and taught himself
to type. In 2006 he published F/V Black Sheep through his own press,
Silver Perch.
Mark Williams died on May 22, 2008 of a sudden heart
attack. At the time of his death he was writing a book about his
career as a commercial diver, as well as a novel, and a screenplay.
He is buried in Calvary Cemetery next to his father Ted Williams
(above), the football player, and in-sight of Good Harbor Beach which
he lived next to for most of his life.
My house sits on a tidal marsh behind
Good Harbor Beach.
I work on my lobster traps there and watch
hawks soar.
- from F/V Black Sheep
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Mark Williams d uring dive school training |
